Tracing the Social Dynamics of Peace and Conflict

Abstract

Social representations provide an underlying structure to the dynamics of peace and conflict. Culturally and temporally specific beliefs about the appropriate deployment of cultural and institutional power determine social and political action. Post-conflict, lay representations of people of other nations persist long after formal hostilities have ended and intra and inter-personal hostility maintained on the basis of collective memory and collective remembering is fuelled by the attribution of cause, agency and essentialism. To investigate their nature and composition, it may be useful to look beyond the mainstream political and cultural sphere and investigate the populist world of comedy, humour, sport and children’s play.